Time vs. Money:

Is Hiring a Property Manager Worth It?

Introduction

Deciding whether or not to use a property management company is a choice that every property owner or landlord must make eventually. As a St. George property manager, you have probably had all sorts of different people give you all sorts of different advice. Some of that advice that you’ve been given is likely biased to some degree based on the personal experiences of the person giving the advice. It’s likely that you’ve at least considered it because we know, as you do, that owning and renting properties can be a time-consuming business. We want to give you an unbiased explanation on the pros and cons of hiring a property management company to take care of the properties that you own. Whether you are leaning toward hiring one or not, the information here will be helpful to you. We want to help you truly know if using a property management company is the right decision for you.

So what do they do?

Well, the whole point of a St. George property management company is to take the burden off of your shoulders. A PMC will take care of all of the business that requires direct contact with your tenants; things like repairs and maintenance, rent collection, addressing complaints, handling evictions, and even promoting and marketing your properties. Many PMCs have had years of experience doing these kinds of things, and in most cases are more experienced than the property owners themselves. And they almost never act as an employee, operating as independent contractors.

To Hire or Not to Hire

Typically the main reason why landlords choose, in the end, not to use PMCs is because of the price. Hiring a property manager is usually not cheap which can turn off many prospective clients. But here’s the thing: you have to decide if it’s worth the cost. St. George property management companies do a lot for you, and most of those things are things you don’t enjoy doing or really don’t have time to do. Consider these questions:

Too Many Properties

If you own a lot of units and properties, it’s almost always recommended that you use a PMC. At some point, it just gets to be too much work and you need help. If you are in this category and own a lot of rentals, it will probably be worth the cost. That’s almost a guarantee.

Sick of Driving

Another situation where having a St. George property management company would almost always be worth it is if you live far away from your properties. The amount of time and money it takes traveling far distances to take care of even the little things adds up fast.

Somebody Else Deal With It

Also, if you are someone who enjoys being in the business of owning and renting properties but by nature would prefer to not have to constantly deal face-to-face with other people if you can avoid it, then a PMC is a right way to go. There is nothing wrong with viewing property ownership solely as an investment and not as a hands-on enterprise; there are many property owners like this. If this is you, definitely use a PMC.

No Time

Time is money, as you know, and if you are spending excess amounts of time doing tedious tasks relating to keeping your tenant happy and maintaining the property, in all actuality you are losing money. Your time is precious and valuable and if you spread yourself too thin, you’ll find yourself swamped which is unproductive. Perhaps being a landlord is not your primary day-to-day job and is a side endeavor for you. For these people, time is usually in short supply. Hiring a PMC may more than likely be worth the investment if you fall into this category. This will free up more time so that you can focus on more big-picture projects like searching for and acquiring additional properties and other ways of growing your business.

Conclusion

This may be an obvious comment, but we’ll say it anyway. If you can easily afford a St. George property management company, there isn’t any reason why you shouldn’t consider hiring a property manager. There is no risk or downside in doing so if you have more than enough money to bring them aboard; only upsides. But if the majority of the topics listed above do not apply to you – meaning you have the time, you prefer to deal personally with your tenants, you live close to your properties, and you don’t own very many – then perhaps doing things by yourself is a better choice for you. Otherwise, you should strongly consider it.